See in the New Year with your smartphone

Are you looking forward to New Year's Eve? Then make it a night to remember with your smartphone by your side.

Take cracking fireworks photos

If you’re going to a party or a fireworks display this New Year’s Eve, make sure you’re ready to capture all the magic right on your phone.

Turn off that flash – cameras use light to take pictures, so by turning the flash off, you’re letting the phone know that it only has the available light to take a picture. This way, the shutter will stay open long enough to snap the fireworks in stunning detail.

Keep still! – Like we said, to make sure your phone’s camera can ‘see’ the fireworks, the shutter needs to be open long enough to take in the light. But if your phone moves, you’re likely to get blurry pictures - because the thing you’re taking pictures of is moving too. So for perfectly sharp and dazzling pictures, a tripod could be your favourite new accessory.

Take them in landscape – putting your phone camera in landscape mode automatically sets the focus to ‘infinity’ which makes the lens opening narrower and keeps near and far objects in focus. So if you’ve got some spectacular fireworks going off in the sky behind your bonfire, you’ll get some great shots.

Turn down the ISO – this is how sensitive your phone camera is to the light. A higher number will give you more details in dark pictures, but fireworks are bright! To make sure you don’t get blurry or noisy photos, go to the camera settings and change the ISO to 100 or lower. Just make sure to change it back when you’re done.

Last all night

Usually, New Year's parties last all night, but will your phone last that long too? With all the pictures and videos you’ll be taking, you need to make sure you’ve got enough power to last past midnight.

Don’t be the one whose phone turns into a pumpkin at 12. A power bank will let you keep snapping away or playing your favourite music without running out of juice. Who needs a fairy godmother when you’re this organised?

All you need to do now is pick which power bank suits you. It’s worth checking your phone’s battery capacity before you do this. For example, if your phone has a 2,000mAh battery, you should get a power bank that’s at least 2,500mAh. It’ll be able to fully charge your phone with something to spare.

New Year, new you

Every year we make promises to ourselves that this year, everything will be different. You’re going to start eating right and exercising more, but there may be times you need that extra kick of motivation. Thankfully, there are tons of apps out there to help you make those new goals and stick to them.

Productivity apps
If you’re trying to break old habits or make some new ones, apps like Way of Life can help you keep on track. You can keep a diary, log your exercise and even how much water you’re drinking. The app can then give you notifications and reminders to give you that nudge in the right direction.
Get Way of Life for Android and iOS

Learn new skills
Learning a new language is right at your fingertips with apps like Duolingo. It lets you learn at your own pace with short lessons, and you can practice with your friends that use the app too. Even if you don’t use the app for a while, you’ll get a refresher when you come back, so you can pick up right where you left off. With 23 languages to choose from, there’s plenty to keep you busy.
Get Duolingo for Android and iOS.

New year, new job?

If you’re looking to make some big changes in the New Year, a new job or career might be on the cards. First, you’ll need to do some research.

Glassdoor does so much more than show you the latest jobs. You can see company reviews, benefits and salaries and even check to see what the average wages are for the job you want. Former employees usually have the best knowledge on what it’s like to work for a company, so you can check those reviews out too.